Resource Guide for Pregnant and New Parents at HSU

College of Professional Studies

My community project is based on the need for a cohesive resource guide for pregnant and new parents attending Humboldt State University. The research was conducted on the resources and references for pregnant and new parents attending Humboldt State University. The project is a compilation of data addressing resources available for students experiencing pregnancy/parenthood while attending HSU. The aim of connecting students with resources is to help with retention as well as supporting their growing families.

Resources for Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Victims

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

The Take Back the Night Organization bridges the gap between students and their community to build a support network for survivors. However, this semester, normal operations have been altered due to COVID-19, social distancing, and shelter-in-place which challenged our group to adjust the scope of our project. Using Instagram as our platform, we worked together to address the societal issues of sexual violence and domestic. We built a manual to promote healthy relationship communication. We included information on online services, hotlines, and other local resources available for sexual and domestic abuse aimed towards helping our Humboldt community during the pandemic.

Resources vs Co2 on Humboldt Bees’

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

The effects of urbanization and Co2 car emmissons on local bee abundance and species richness. Testing to see what drives bee populations and if there is a negative correlation between Co2 levels and bees' in urban, agricultural, and natural settings and which areas provide the most abundant resources.

Responses to infant facial cues in parents and non-parents

College of Professional Studies

Infant facial features elicit perceptions of cuteness and capture attention in adults. It is believed that this attunement to infant cues may enhance motivation to engage in caretaking behavior. A number of recent studies have investigated liking and wanting responses to infant faces using perceptual ratings of cuteness as a measure of liking and an effort-based key-press task as a behavioral measure of wanting. It has been speculated that these two measures are likely to be important components in parental behavior, but this link has not yet been explicitly tested. To address this issue, we measured liking and wanting responses to infant facial cuteness in parents and non-parents.

Restoration and Medicinal Plants: Ending the Negligence Towards Ethnobotany and TEK

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Our project focuses on the importance of ethnobotany with an emphasis on restoration and medicinal plant properties. Ethnobotanical studies fixated on traditional ecological knowledge have long been disregarded by western science; however, this information is crucial for the restoration of the environment, advancement of medicines, and cultural revival of the Native people. Due to colonization and westernization, the continuation of knowledge throughout generations along with the vast ecosystems that once thrived has depleted. Conversely, through the expansion and shared education on plants and restoration processes long known by Natives, the gap between western science and TEK will degrade.

Rethinking Community in Westside Eureka: The Jefferson Project

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

From our time at the Jefferson Center we have been exposed to a new form of community. The Jefferson Project located on the Westside of Eureka is an inclusive space that allows for numerous activities, workshops, events, after school child care, and volunteering. This location has transformed from an abandoned elementary school to a “clean, safe neighborhood dedicated to combatting urban blight” and revitalizing the local environment by fostering a sense community. Our experience at the center has allowed us to expand our academic lenses to applicable social justice scenarios.

Reusables for Waste Prevention

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Seeking to address zero waste and upstream waste reduction by increasing awareness, and providing access to reusable cloth produce bags made from donated and upcycled materials. By volunteering time to handcraft bags and distribute them at farmer's market, engaging shoppers and vendors to collect and disseminate information regarding our relationship to waste. With the support of the North Coast Grower's Association, I hope to reach a better understanding of what we can do as a community to reduce our dependence on single use plastics.

REUSE- REDUCE-REMOVE

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Buying a new water bottle seems easier for some, but harder for our planet. The use of plastic is a global issue and should be concerning. We partnered up with Zero Waste Humboldt (ZWH), a nonprofit organization, to assist in their Refill-not-Landfill Network Project, which is a project that has saved over 100,000 water bottles from the landfill. We assisted in this project by updating their website with an updated map of the 10 water refilling stations that were donated by them through a federal grant. We are presenting at IdeaFest so community members can gain an awareness and interest in being conscious about waste production and mindful about single-use plastic bottles.

Revisiting the Fishes of the Beartooth Butte Formation

Patience Brennan, Wildlife Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

This research aims to address the species composition of Devonian fossil fish species from a formation in Wyoming called the Beartooth Butte. This location has not received much if any attention from paleoichthyologists since the fossils within the formation were originally described in 1932. These fishes were overlooked for botanical fossils, and historically yielded fragmentary material. However, specimens from a Cal Poly Humboldt excavation in 2017, not only include the second articulated fossil from the formation, but also the first 3D fossil recorded.

Revisiting the Five Finger Discount: Shoplifting as a Reproductive Strategy

Shairy Jimenez Delgado, Psychology Graduate Student

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Using social media to conduct human ethological research, this study seeks to replicate previous findings that online shoplifting displays are motivated by reproductive strategies to increase mate value. It involves the analysis of 150 Tumblr posts showcasing stolen items, which together feature 1,744 identifiable items. Items with the intended use of improving attraction by enhancing physical appearance, scent, or sexual allure include: personal care items, makeup, cosmetic applicators, and jewelry were categorized as mating relevant. The results of this study replicate previous work by showing a significant difference between mating relevant and non-mating relevant items.